The Valentine Blues
by lil miss meiling
Summary: In retrospect it had probably been a silly idea. The whole Valentines Day holiday was so overrated and he knew it was a busy time. Still, as the day crept closer, he couldn't help but think this was the first time he had someone to share it with. SLASH B/
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note and Disclaimer: Well, first I'll get the technical stuff out of the way: There is no way I own these characters lol. I simply borrowed them and mixed things up a bit. This is also my first NT fic, as I have been hooked on it after seeing the second film. Anywho, Sorry if the characterization is off, I did try to keep things together, but I know parts are probably really OOC. Still, I hope you can still enjoy it :-)

In retrospect it had probably been a silly idea. The whole Valentines Day holiday was completely overrated and had become nothing more than a time for candy companies to flourish. He didn't need that much chocolate. Florists were in demand as couples sent bouquets of the most cliché flowers to their significant other. Flowers made is nose itch. No, he had had no intention of celebrating the silly thing. But as the day crept closer he couldn't help but think that he had never really had someone to celebrate with before. Plus, in a really horribly and grossly romantic kind of way, the timing seemed to fit. He had been waiting and waiting for a right time to approach a certain subject with his partner, and it was almost as if this day was screaming now was his chance.

"Well, at least now I know better than to listen," Riley Poole stated softly as he rubbed at his eyes with his hand, pausing as he pulled it away to look at his watch. Eleven thirty. It had been almost 5 hours since the other had promised to be home for dinner. Granted, he had wanted it to be a surprise, so he hadn't told him how much effort he had put into planning the evening, and even if he had he wasn't sure it would have made much of a difference.

The dining room in the nice sized two story house they shared was lit only by the flames of dimly shining candles that were now burned almost to completion. The crème colored table cloth hung limply, as if it were as depressed as the young techno geek himself was feeling. Two dinner settings were set up across from each other, both uneaten and now ice cold to the touch. The once lovely set up sat now completely lifeless.

"Come on Riley," he said to himself, shaking his head as if he could shake away the horrible feeling gnawing at his heart. "This is Ben we're talking about here. You know he's been on the verge of something big for the past couple weeks. Sure it's kept him away until all hours of the night and him and Abigail are more than likely working on it together, eating bad Chinese takeout and going over stupid documents while he could be here with you and the dinner you magically managed to make all by yourself…But hey, things come up right? Exactly. It's not a big deal. It's just a stupid holiday with stupid sentiments…that's it….just stupid…" But as he reached into his pocket and fingers clasped around a small box, he knew that he wasn't going to be able to psych himself out this time.

A soft sigh and a longing glance later he was standing up and blowing out the candles. No matter how hurt he was, the last thing he wanted was to inadvertently burn the house down. Ben would never forgive him for that one. He was about to turn away and head towards the bedroom, but something made him stop. He grasped the small box in his pocket and slowly took it out, his eyes locked on it. There really would never be another time he'd have the nerve to ask, or even mention it in passing. Especially when lately rather than a couple they were more of a trio, with him somehow becoming the third wheel. "Happy Valentines Day Ben," he murmured, placing the precious gift on the table before leaving the room.

To his dismay, the techie made it no further than the staircase when he heard the front door open, followed not by something such as "sorry I'm late" or "I tried to call." No, there were no excuses. Simply a "Hey Riley, d'you think you could give us a hand with these?"

It took all he had not to sigh and shake his head before continuing on his path towards the bedroom, but to instead put a smile on and turn with forced enthusiasm. He'd done it all his life as a child, so he had mastered the act quite well. However it took him a moment to realize that there was something wrong with that sentence. Us…? Then it hit him. Standing just behind Ben with her golden locks hanging just past her shoulders was Abigail. Now that was what made him falter in the comfortable façade he had adopted at age 10. Not only had he missed the dinner he had promised to come home to, he was with his ex. That was just adding insult to injury. He knew that it was silly of him to have these feelings of jealousy, they were still all friends after all, and perhaps if it had been any other day, if he hadn't spent the day pacing around as he planned out some kind of proposal speech, Star Wars not even able to calm his nerves, things would be different. But they weren't, and she was there, and as he smiled rolled his eyes before taking a few of the folders in Ben's arms he felt his heart plummet into his stomach.

From the corner of his eye he caught the quick flash of concern that had formed in Ben's eyes, noticed the quick glance over as his boyfriend tried to assess him, but he was determined to keep this to himself, especially with a guest. After dumping the folders on the small coffee table by the couch he stretched his arms over his head, releasing a long, drawn out yawn. "You two kiddies play nice now. I'm gonna hit the sack."

"Riley Poole in bed before midnight?" Abigail quipped, her voice a bit too perky for Riley's liking.

"What can I say? I exhausted my energy saving the world through my x-box. Don't worry though, I think you can survive one evening without my dashing good looks and witty charms." He winked at her before forcing out a laugh, which as he shot Ben a look he thought might have been a bit too forced, but he simply shrugged it off and grinned, letting out one last yawn for good measure. "I'll see you in the morning." As he made his way up the stairs he was tempted to pause, wondering briefly if leaving the dining room the way he did was a good idea, for all he knew he could take that ring and use it on Abigail. Of course now he was just being stupid. Ben may do a lot of things, but he knew deep down the other wouldn't purposely hurt him. Still, he could be irked.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: So I finally got chapter two done. Yaaaay! I hadn't meant for it to take so long, so I'm sorry about that. But I hope you guys enjoy it all the same :-)

He should have known that going to bed early would never truly work. He was a night owl through and through and trying to sleep before 2am was like trying to deprive him of his precious laptop, simply not going to happen. Sighing, he sat up, his sleeve covered hands rubbing at his eyes as he tried to block the blaring red light coming from the digital clock. He had been expecting Ben to join him eventually, however it had been almost two hours and the other had not once poked his head into the bedroom. There was a soft pang of sadness with a side of guilt waiting when Riley realized that it was most likely due to the state of things he had left downstairs. Dinner left on the table with an engagement ring to boot was a bit theatrical for his tastes, but he couldn't help but feel he was somewhat justified.

With a soft sigh he kicked his legs over the edge of the bed and pushed himself up, shivering as his feet touched the cold, wood finished floors. Personally he preferred the softness of the carpets that made up the living room, but one step at a time. Eventually he would be able to finish carpeting the house and he would no longer have to worry about constantly forgetting socks every time he roamed upstairs. Though he had to admit, it served as a nice wake up device, as he was sure that without it he wouldn't have made it down the stairs at all, and his throat was begging for something to drink.

What he wasn't prepared for was the sight he was met with as he slowly crept towards the kitchen, not wanting to wake Ben if he had fallen asleep downstairs. However, the other was not asleep, nor in the living room, but rather sitting in the dining room, his eyes locked on the velvet box that he had spent weeks fussing over. His expression shone with such melancholy, unlike anything Riley had ever seen on him before, and that sent a pang of guilt rushing through him. 'Maybe I wasn't thinking when I left everything out like that…I mean he looks so depressed, and I knew he'd probably forget anyway. I just wanted to do something special now that I had someone….who loved me. I mean that's not too much of a request right? It was just a stupid day though, stupid holiday…It's over now anyway, after midnight, February 15, no more Valentines Day. Still…what am I supposed to say now to-" before he could finish, his train of thought came to an abrupt stop when he bumped into the small table stand that was just outside the kitchen door.

He say Ben look up, and at that moment found himself at a loss for words, the hazel eyes staring at him with so much emotion it sent his brain for a whirl. He watched as his boyfriend's lips parted as if to say something but then shut once more, his eye brows furrowing as though searching for the right words to say. However when Riley finally found his voice he spoke up first. "Sorry…didn't mean to disturb you and all. I just couldn't sleep you know? And I realized I was thirsty, so I came down for some water or something…"

"Riley…"

He thought he heard his name, but was too caught up to truly acknowledge it, just rambling off everything that came to mind. "…And sorry about the mess and all…you know how I am with dishes, heh. But I'll clean it up tomorrow, you know, when I don't feel like I'm gonna pass out, scouts honor. You should-"

"Riley."

"-tell Abi I'm sorry too. I think I might've been kind of standoffish, I'm not really sure. But I can never tell with her and I don't want to-"

"Riley!"

Now that got his attention and he quickly stopped, slowly glancing up so his gaze matched that of the treasure hunter's. He watched as the other pushed away from the table and stood, slowly walking over. Each step seemed to make Riley's heart pound, and he could not for the life of him figure out what was making him so nervous. Sure, the situation wasn't exactly ideal, but he hadn't felt like this since he had first let his feelings be known. Yet as each second passed he felt his heart beating faster and his fingers started tugging on the ends of his sleeves, a nervous habit he had developed over time. He didn't come out of it until he suddenly felt himself being engulfed into a hug, his head tucked securely under Ben's chin.

"I'm sorry," he heard the words whispered, lips grazing the tip of his ear and causing him to shiver as he slowly wrapped his arms around the other. For the first few seconds it seemed obvious that he was apologizing for being so late, for missing dinner and forgetting that he had promised to be home. However, then he remembered the other thing. The thing so small he had been able to carry it around is his pocket day by day, waiting for the right moment to deliver it to the one who owned his heart. And _that_ made him nervous. Was it an "I'm sorry about dinner." Was it an "I'm sorry I broke my promise." Or was it and "I'm sorry I'm in love with my ex and can't marry you," type of sorry. And now he didn't really know what to do, so he did the only thing he could think of. Try to laugh it off.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, seriously dude, it's no big deal. It was just a stupid holiday anyway right? Right, and I mean I know that you work a lot and all that boring history stuff really sucks you in and-" Cut off again. But this time by a pair of soft lips brushing against his.

"And it is no excuse," his sentence was finished for him. "I know I can be a workaholic, and I can be late sometimes, and forget to call, but…I can't keep using that as an excuse. Neglecting you like I did tonight…there's nothing I can say that will ever excuse that. You deserve better than that. And don't you dare try and brush it off, because I know how much it meant to you, how important it was to you…more so than I had imagined actually…Heck, dinner alone must've taken forever, and…among other things…I'm just….so sorry that I ruined it Riley."

His mind was racing, trying to take in everything the other was saying, but found it increasingly hard. He hadn't really expected such a heart felt apology, and yet there it was, standing in front of him, and all he could do was look up and offer a smile, not trusting himself to speak just yet. However that option was stolen as quickly as he had found it, as suddenly he was face to face with the small box that had caused him grief, open for the first time since he had bought the damn thing. Staring up at him was a simple gold band, however he had had the jeweler engrave their initials on the inside. It seemed strange to be looking at, for it had been over a month since he had first laid eyes on it inside a window display. He hadn't even planned on it happening, but when he saw it was as though he was drawn to it by an invisible bond that would not release him. And now it was happening again as a faint blush made its way across his cheeks.

His eyes flickered briefly to the other as he cleared his throat. "I uh…I know it isn't your dream proposal, and Valentines Day is over and all…but…I'd be honored if you still want to ask."

And just like that the small box was in his palm, his heart pounding as his brain slowly turned to mush while he tried drastically to remember what he had planned to say. All the work he spent preparing his speech, however, was for naught as no words came to his mind. He had been counting on the romantic atmosphere to serve as a kind of influence over him, letting himself get wrapped up in all the sappy, mushiness that came with a romantic dinner for two on the day of love. Yet now he stood, rooted in place, with nothing up his sleeve. But there had to be something, anything. So much time and energy had been put into this and the moment was finally here. Think. Think. Think.

"Yeah…Well, I guess I can forgive you and all, but you missed out on the amazing proposal speech I had I hope you know…," he started, mentally smacking himself at how ridiculous he sounded, but at the same time a little be glad when a ghost of a smile passed over the other's lips. "I've been trying to come up with a way to do this for a little over a month actually, and I figured Valentines Day and all, I mean with all the mushy gushy stuff going around, _something_ would inspire me. But…really, what can I say? I've been hunting for lost treasures with you for years now and…well, I dunno about you but I've found the only treasure I really need…," Another mental smack. 'Waaaaaay too sappy there Riley.' "I love you Ben…and…I can't think of a better way to spend the rest of my life than with you. And…you know, it'd be cool if it were the same for you…"

Slowly, he finally decided to sneak a glance at Ben, having kept his eyes practically glued to his shoes the whole time as he spoke, too afraid of what he'd see if he looked up. The sparkle in blue eyes and the happy but amused smile were not exactly what he had been expecting, not that he was disappointed or anything. A smile of his own broke out as a hand appeared in front of him, simply waiting for something that Riley wanted more than anything to give it. After weeks of fretting and planning, and even though nothing had worked out as it should, slipping that gold band onto Ben's finger made everything worth it. A day of cleaning, the miracle dinner, even the depression when he had been stood up. None of it mattered as a smile broke out onto his face and he tugged on Ben's collar to pull him into a passionate kiss.

After a shower of kisses rained down between them and he was feeling more content than he could ever remember feeling, he tilted his head when Ben lightly tapped his head. With a raised brow and mischievous smirk, he was asked one simple question. "Cool?"

He rolled his eyes, though the satisfied smile never left. "Shut up."


End file.
